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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Grand Café de Moulins, located in 49 Place d'Allier, is a café-restaurant opened in 1899. Its interior architecture and facade illustrate the Neo-rococo 1900 style, inspired by the Rocaille and contemporary of Art Nouveau. The main room, decorated with wall glass, stucco, ironwork and a large bronze chandelier, also houses a ceiling allegorical fresco and a glass window. A central metal beam, signed Eiffel, divides space, while a wrought iron mezzanine once houses an orchestra.

The café was created by Renoux, a former Parisian coffee boy, who invests 250,000 Swiss francs (equivalent to €600,000 in 2016) for its production. The architect Louis Galfione-Garetta, director of the Municipal School of Fine Arts, designed a fantastic decor announcing Art Nouveau. The painter Auguste Sauroy decorated the ceiling with a fresco depicting the legend of Gambrinus, mythical king associated with beer. The Grand Café soon became a meeting place for local notables, officers and merchants.

In the 1900s, the Grand Café was a pioneer of modern entertainment at Moulins. He presented the "moving cosmorama", an optical spectacle, as well as the first cinematograph sessions of the city, projected from an outdoor balcony. Attended by Gabrielle Chanel (future Coco Chanel), then seamstress, coffee was also a place of sociability for the bourgeoisie and intellectuals. He retained his role as a coffee-concert until the 1950s-1960s.

Ranked in the inventory of Historic Monuments in 1978 for its facade and its two rooms, the Grand Café underwent several renovations, notably in 1993 under the direction of Marcel Pocheron, then in the early 2010s by Christian Belin. Today, led by Maud and Alexandra Belin, he was awarded the state label of Master Restaurator in 2013. The venue was also used as a setting for the movie Coco Chanel (2008).

Contrary to a persistent rumour, the Grand Café did not serve as a filming venue for Maigret and the Saint-Fiacre affair (1959). Although Georges Simenon, author of the original novel, attended the establishment, director Jean Delannoy opted for a studio-reconstituted decor due to the complexity of the mirrors and the layout of the premises. Coffee remains a symbol of the cultural and social life of Moulins at the Belle Époque.

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